Five St. Cloud State players will return for their fifth seasons in 2021-22, the school announced Friday.
Forwards Easton Brodzinski and Kevin Fitzgerald, defensemen Seamus Donohue and Luke Jaycox and goaltender David Hrenak will be back for their final year of NCAA eligibility.
The five returning Huskies all played key roles for St. Cloud State during the team’s run to the Frozen Four and championship game back in early April.
Combined, the five seniors scored 53 points for the Huskies, tallying 24 goals and 29 assists. All five, including Hrenak, tallied at least one point during the 2020-21 season, with Brodzinski and Fitzgerald leading the way with 18 total points. Additionally, Brodzinski established himself as St. Cloud State’s leading goal scorer during both the regular and postseason, tallying a team-leading 13 goals before his season was cut short in the NCAA regional final due to injury. In the Northeast regional, Brodzinski scored two goals in the Huskies come-from-behind win over Boston University and was named to the all-tournament team after the win over Boston College.
Fitzgerald garnered a multitude of awards during the 2020-21 season, as he was named the NCHC Sportsmanship Award recipient and was a finalist for both Senior CLASS Award and the Hockey Humanitarian Award. Voted an alternate captain, Fitzgerald appeared in all 31 games for the Huskies and finished the year with nine goals and nine assists for 18 points.
Donohue and Jaycox were defensive stalwarts and proved to be huge offensive threats down the stretch for the Huskies. As the starting left defenseman for St. Cloud State all season long, Donohue concluded the season with nine total points with one goal and eight assists. He tallied points in all three of the Huskies games during the NCHC Frozen Faceoff in March, while Jaycox played a key role in the team advancing to the NCAA Frozen Four. Jaycox scored the game-tying goal in St. Cloud State’s 4-1 win over Boston College and was named to the NCAA Northeast regional all-tournament Team at the conclusion of the regional.
Hrenak was once again one of the top goalies in the NCHC during the 2020-21 regular season and was named the NCAA Northeast regional’s MVP after surrendering just three goals in two games against Boston University and Boston College. Additionally, Hrenak became the school record holder for career shutouts in 2020-21 and tied the program record for career goalie wins as he tallied his 66th career win in a 5-4 victory over Minnesota State at the Frozen Four. He closed his fourth season with the Huskies with an overall record of 17-10-0, a 2.66 GAA, .904 save percentage and two shutouts.
